Gates Guest Book: Our First Intern!

On January 3, 2017, the Gates Conservation Laboratory welcomed its first conservation graduate student intern, Nora Bloch from West Dean College.  As part of her course of study, Nora must complete a 6-week work placement assignment.  And lucky for us, Nora chose to spend her six weeks in New Haven with YUL’s Conservation & Exhibition Services!

We packed Nora’s schedule with as many different experiences as we could. She helped to install exhibits, assisted with a condition survey, learned techniques for humidifying and flattening parchment.  She measured levels of arsenic in silked documents using XRF, sat in on conservation reviews and curator meetings, and participated in a Traveling Scriptorium session for New Haven high school students.  Oh, and she even had some time to work on a couple of treatment projects!

Nora is no stranger to books and libraries.  She earned a MLIS from the Department of Information Studies at UCLA in 2012.  She also served as the Project Manager for the California Rare Book School (CalRBS) and taught letterpress courses.

February 10th was the last day of Nora’s internship.  We thank her for her hard work and enthusiasm for all things library and conservation.  We wish her well as she finishes her studies (and thesis) and embarks on her career as a professional conservator!

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Handle with Care: Training for Reading Room and Security Staff

On Monday, Christine McCarthy and Karen Jutzi joined Tara Kennedy (YUL Preservation Services), and the Beinecke Library’s Rebecca Hatcher and Eve Neiger to present the first session of a two-part workshop on care and handling of special collections in public reading rooms.  While some information may have been review for those in attendance, this was an opportunity to make sure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to turning pages in the reading room.  The staff who attend the session asked great questions and made excellent suggestions based on their experience.

Quick Reference Guide and common reading room tools/supports

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They say that timing is everything. The workshops were planned to following closely on the heels of the reopening of the Beinecke Library’s reading room after 18 months of renovation to the building.

The workshop session on Monday was the result of several months of planning and collaboration between preservation, conservation, access services, and technical services staff. A survey was sent to all access services and security staff to better understand their comfort levels with various practices and to identify any knowledge or training gaps. Balancing reader needs and collection preservation is challenging. Staff worry about the time implications of good handling habits and readers’ service expectations. Having the management team from Access Services at the planning table from the start made it easier to turn ideal practice into implementable practice.  And based on the feedback from staff who participated, there is a strong commitment to both the use of collections and their protection.

 

 

Gates Guest Book: Hopkins School

The Gates Conservation Laboratory was pleased to host a Traveling Scriptorium class last month for AP Art History students from the Hopkins School.  Students visited our lab and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Each student made their own medieval tacketted pamphlet and learned to write with quills and inks like the scribes of old.  We thoroughly enjoyed working with this group of smart and inquisitive young art lovers.